Since we continue to find ourselves a period of crippling uncertainty, we might as well have a little fun with it, eh? So I went ahead and took a look at what a new-look ACC and new-look Big Ten would hypothetically look like with the additions of Cal & Stanford (presuming that the media gods take mercy on our souls and allow us access into one of those two conferences). Take a look below:
ACC__(16 - MEMBERS)
Hypothetical: Grows from 14 members to 16 members with the additions of Cal & Stanford
Optimal Divisional Alignment: 4 Regional 4-Team Pods
NORTH
* Boston College
* Louisville
* Pittsburgh
* Syracuse
SOUTH
* Clemson
* Florida State
* Georgia Tech
* Miami
ATLANTIC
* NC State
* North Carolina
* Virginia Tech
* Wake Forest
COASTAL
* Cal
* Duke
* Stanford
* Virginia
ACC__(18 - MEMBERS)
Hypothetical: Grows from 14 members to 18 members with the additions of Cal, Stanford, SMU, & Notre Dame (who increases their annual ACC scheduling agreement from 4 games to 6)
Optimal Divisional Alignment: 6 Regional 3-Team Pods
NORTH
* Boston College
* Syracuse
* Virginia
SOUTH
* Florida State
* Georgia Tech
* Miami
EAST
* Clemson
* Virginia Tech
* Wake Forest
WEST
* Cal
* SMU
* Stanford
MIDWEST
* Louisville
* Notre Dame
* Pittsburgh
TOBACCO
* Duke
* NC State
* North Carolina
BIG TEN__(20 - MEMBERS)
Hypothetical: Grows from 18 members to 20 members with the additions of Cal & Stanford
Optimal Divisional Alignment: 2 Regional 4-Team Pods + 2 Regional 6-Team Pods
NORTHEAST
* Maryland
* Ohio State
* Penn State
* Rutgers
GREAT LAKE
* Indiana
* Michigan
* Michigan State
* Purdue
MIDWEST
* Illinois
* Iowa
* Minnesota
* Nebraska
* Northwestern
* Wisconsin
PACIFIC
* Cal
* Oregon
* Stanford
* UCLA
* USC
* Washington
Comments: It's pretty clear that joining a 20-member Big Ten would be far more advantageous than any of the ACC alternatives. But after taking a closer look at how a 16-18 member ACC would lay out from a divisional standpoint, I'm not as opposed to it as I was 24 hours ago. Given the situation we currently find ourselves in, beggars can't be choosers and I think we should/would jump at an invite from either league just to re-establish some semblance of future stability for the sake of our student athletes. But I really hope both Stanford & the TV networks take a holistic approach to whatever the next moves are that unfold from here because a 20-team Big Ten with Stanford & Cal simply makes too much sense (from a non-revenue standpoint that is). Hopefully we'll get a better indication of where this is all heading by week's end.
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ACC__(16 - MEMBERS)
Hypothetical: Grows from 14 members to 16 members with the additions of Cal & Stanford
Optimal Divisional Alignment: 4 Regional 4-Team Pods
NORTH
* Boston College
* Louisville
* Pittsburgh
* Syracuse
SOUTH
* Clemson
* Florida State
* Georgia Tech
* Miami
ATLANTIC
* NC State
* North Carolina
* Virginia Tech
* Wake Forest
COASTAL
* Cal
* Duke
* Stanford
* Virginia
ACC__(18 - MEMBERS)
Hypothetical: Grows from 14 members to 18 members with the additions of Cal, Stanford, SMU, & Notre Dame (who increases their annual ACC scheduling agreement from 4 games to 6)
Optimal Divisional Alignment: 6 Regional 3-Team Pods
NORTH
* Boston College
* Syracuse
* Virginia
SOUTH
* Florida State
* Georgia Tech
* Miami
EAST
* Clemson
* Virginia Tech
* Wake Forest
WEST
* Cal
* SMU
* Stanford
MIDWEST
* Louisville
* Notre Dame
* Pittsburgh
TOBACCO
* Duke
* NC State
* North Carolina
BIG TEN__(20 - MEMBERS)
Hypothetical: Grows from 18 members to 20 members with the additions of Cal & Stanford
Optimal Divisional Alignment: 2 Regional 4-Team Pods + 2 Regional 6-Team Pods
NORTHEAST
* Maryland
* Ohio State
* Penn State
* Rutgers
GREAT LAKE
* Indiana
* Michigan
* Michigan State
* Purdue
MIDWEST
* Illinois
* Iowa
* Minnesota
* Nebraska
* Northwestern
* Wisconsin
PACIFIC
* Cal
* Oregon
* Stanford
* UCLA
* USC
* Washington
Comments: It's pretty clear that joining a 20-member Big Ten would be far more advantageous than any of the ACC alternatives. But after taking a closer look at how a 16-18 member ACC would lay out from a divisional standpoint, I'm not as opposed to it as I was 24 hours ago. Given the situation we currently find ourselves in, beggars can't be choosers and I think we should/would jump at an invite from either league just to re-establish some semblance of future stability for the sake of our student athletes. But I really hope both Stanford & the TV networks take a holistic approach to whatever the next moves are that unfold from here because a 20-team Big Ten with Stanford & Cal simply makes too much sense (from a non-revenue standpoint that is). Hopefully we'll get a better indication of where this is all heading by week's end.
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